What kinds of preparation must principals undertake to ensure that their students will be prepared to master new college- and career-ready standards and to demonstrate that mastery on the new assessments they will take in School Year 2014–15? On April 12, 2012, the Alliance for Excellent Education and NASSP held a webinar discussion of this important question.

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar on April 9 featuring Dr. Russell W. Rumberger, who has conducted research on school dropouts for the past twenty-five years and is the author of Dropping Out: Why Students Drop Out of High School and What Can Be Done About It. The webinar also featured Alliance Vice President of Federal Advocacy Phillip Lovell spoke about actions that the federal government can take to help quell the high school dropout crisis. Alliance President Bob Wise moderated the panel and helped address questions submitted by webinar viewers from across the country.

What are the lessons learned from the New York City small high schools of choice initiative that can help districts and states create sustainable strategies to markedly improve the graduation rates and trajectories of large numbers of traditionally underserved students? On April 3, 2012 the Alliance for Excellent Education and MDRC cohosted a webinar to discuss the findings of the MDRC report and facilitated a conversation among education leaders about the design and implementation of an effective large-scale high school reform. The webinar also included a question and answer period to address questions submitted by viewers across the nation.

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar on March 23 to explore the concept of senior projects. The webinar highlighted a school (Barrington High School in Rhode Island) and a school network (EdVisions Schools) that have implemented the project requirement for several years. The webinar also looked at the state of Rhode Island, which recently implemented a statewide policy that includes senior projects as a component of a new graduation policy. Robert Rothman, a senior fellow at the Alliance, moderated the discussion and panelists addressed questions submitted by webinar viewers from across the country.

On March 21, members of the Alliance for Excellent Education’s federal advocacy team presented an update on developments in state and federal policy and their implications for high school reform. Panelists also answered questions submitted by viewers from across the country.

The Alliance for Excellent Education, with participation from the Center for K-12 Assessment & Performance Management at ETS (K-12 Center), held a webinar on March 1 to consider the consortia’s plans. Leaders of the two consortia provided an update on their activities, including information about content frameworks and specifications and a technology readiness survey. A former state and district superintendent, Pascal D. Forgione, Jr., and a former governor, Bob Wise, placed the consortia’s work in a policy context.

The marquee event of the first-ever national Digital Learning Day, the National Town Hall featured a roundtable discussion with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowskion transitioning K-12 schools to digital learning. It also included live interaction via Skype with four school districts in Charlotte, Cleveland, Denver, and Houston; profiled great teachers who are effectively using technology to deliver instruction; and focused on successful education innovation projects that demonstrate how technology can be used in the classroom to improve student outcomes.

The Alliance for Excellent Education held a webinar on January 18 featuring the perspective of districts as well as elementary, middle, and high schools on the power of digital learning and how to participate in Digital Learning Day. The webinar featured Karen Collins, principal of Mountainview Elementary in West Virginia; Noelle Ellerson, assistant director for policy analysis and advocacy at the American Association of School Administrators; Michelle Meehan, a teacher at Kenmore Middle School in Virginia; Eric Sheninger, principal of New Milford High School in New Jersey; and Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia. As members of the Alliance’s Educator Working Group and core partners in support Digital Learning Day efforts, the panelists discussed how digital learning has made a difference in the lives of students and teachers and they described how to get involved in this celebration of innovative teaching and learning. Panelists also answered questions submitted by viewers across the country.

On January 6 the Alliance for Excellent Education will hed a webinar to highlight some successful schools and provide more information about getting involved and learning more about how technology can have a powerful impact. The webinar featured Ann Flynn, of the National School Boards Association; Jayne Marlink, executive director of California Writing Project that is heading up efforts for Digital Learning Day on February 1, 2012 in California; Jason Pittman, a science teacher at Hollin Meadows Elementary School in Alexandria, Virginia who was awarded the Zula International-National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) Early Science Educator Award for his outdoor garden project; and Bob Wise, president of the Alliance and former governor of West Virginia. The panelists are members of the Educator Working Group that supports the Alliance’s Digital Learning Day efforts, and discussed how they have seen digital learning make a difference in the lives of students and teachers and elements of success in digital initiatives.

On January 5 the Alliance for Excellent Education hosted a webinar featuring state directors of comprehensive systems for birth-through-grade-twelve literacy development and education—Melissa Colsman from the Colorado Department of Education and Jill Slack from the Louisiana Department of Education.